Try our affiliated browser extension - redirect to BreezeWiki automatically!

Sotenbori

Sotenbori (蒼天堀, Sōtenbori) is the name of the entertainment district in Osaka. Based on Osaka's real-life DōtonboriWP district, it has played a major role in several games in the series. It is one of multiple explorable cities in each of Yakuza 0, Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2, Kurohyou 2: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura-hen, Yakuza 5, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It is the primary explorable city of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

Sotenbori is the entertainment capital of the west, in contrast to Kamurocho of the east. It is a base of operations for the Omi Alliance, the largest yakuza organization in Japan and rivals of the Tojo Clan.

The area is split by the Sotenbori River, with the north side being the lively Sotenbori Street and the south side having a more underground field called Shofukucho. In contrast to Kamurocho, the atmosphere within Sotenbori is warmer, more laid back, and "medieval". This is evidenced by it being more brightly lit in the prominence of lavish decorations, along with the usage of Kansai-ben amongst most of its inhabitants. In the English-localized games, this speech pattern is interpreted through the use of a US Southerner accent, or at least a faster-paced and more casual manner of speaking.

History

Yakuza 0

Goro Majima is trapped here by the Tojo Clan after the Ueno Seiwa hit and years of torture by Futoshi Shimano. He is kept under the watchful eye of Tsukasa Sagawa, who has stated that he will only be inducted back into the clan after making a certain amount of money at the Cabaret Grand.

In this game, the Sotenbori riverbanks are little more than grass verges with fencing leading to the backs of buildings. The player can nevertheless fish here like on other games. Underneath the river lies a fighting coliseum, which is only accessible by an underwater tunnel that opens up via the use of a special river barge.

When Kiryu and Jun Oda visits Sotenbori, Shofukucho South was blocked due to police investigation in to the bombing and death of Wen Hai Lee, and they cannot cross the bridge to go southbound. He also decided not to enter Club Sunshine, as he is unaware that Majima also manages the veunue.

Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2

In this game, Kazuma Kiryu goes to Sotenbori to try and negotiate a peace deal with the Omi Alliance after the "death" of Yukio Terada. He is taken into the protective custody of Osaka detective Kaoru Sayama, but after being shot, he takes her to lie low in her stepmother Tamiyo Sayama's bar Aoi, which is used as a base while Kiryu is in the city.

When Kiryu is taking Haruka Sawamura for a stroll around Sotenbori after her rescue, a talent scout, noticing the girl's immense hidden potential, tries to get her into the idol industry, setting the stage for what would come in Yakuza 5. Here, though, she adamantly turns down the scout because she wants to stay with her adoptive father.

The biggest difference between 2006 Sotenbori and that of 18 years prior is the development of the riverbank area, which has had a walkway and boat moorings installed. There are also now shop and restaurant entrances, including alternative access to Sotenbori's Don Quijote. After completing The Hunt for Tatsu substory, the player can access a secret weapon shop located on a barge, which will moor up at Kiryu's request.

The Sotenbori of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is much the same as the original 2006 game. Due to Shinseicho being cut, story events that took place there now occur in Sotenbori instead.

Kurohyou 2: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura-hen

Tatsuya Ukyo fights the local Ashura gang in a series of matches in Ashura's home turf and brings them down.

Yakuza 5

Haruka is now an idol and she is at Mirei Park's Dyna Chair talent agency in Sotenbori, where she is training to improve her skills. Akiyama is also down here setting up the Osaka branch of Sky Finance, but he is struggling because his assistant Hana, who runs the day-to-day business, is busy manning the fort in Kamurocho. The two of them team up when things take a turn for the worse, as the two of them find themselves in conflict with the locally active branch of the Omi Alliance, Ousaka Enterprises.

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Ichiban Kasuga and his party travel to Sotenbori to help Masumi Arakawa and await a call from Mitsuo Yasumura in Cabaret Grand for further details. An impatient Ichiban decides to sneak into Omi Alliance HQ with everyone else at Adachi's suggestion, but not before finding out about the Sotenbori Battle Arena, located in a construction site in the place of Don Quijote in previous entries. Following their trip, they return to Sotenbori and the next day meet with Mitsuo before they step into the chaos that lies ahead in their second visit to Omi HQ.

Notable Locations

Streets and Areas

  • Sotenbori Street: The street north of Sotenbori
  • Iwao Bridge: A bridge east of Sotenbori
  • Sotenbori Bridge: A bridge west of Sotenbori. Formerly known as Bishamon Bridge
  • Shofukucho: The seedier south part of Sotenbori.
  • Ashitaba Park: A park south of Sotenbori

Story-relevant Locations

  • Cabaret Grand: Sotenbori's most popular cabaret, once owned by Tsukasa Sagawa and managed by Goro Majima
  • Club Odyssey: The Grand's biggest rival in 1988, located in Shofukucho.
  • Hogushi Kaikan: A massage parlor owned by Wen Hai Lee.
  • Club Sunshine: A cabaret club
  • Aoi: A small bar owned by Tamiyo Sayama
  • Four Shine: A cabaret club formed by the founders of Club Sunshine after it became the same corporate entity it fought against in 1988

Shops

Restaurants, Eateries and Bars

Entertainment and Nightlife

  • Club SEGA: A chain of amusement centers run by Sega in Sotenbori Street
  • Bed of Styx: A secret fighting arena under the Sotenbori river, where world-class criminals fight for their freedom.
  • Maharaja: A disco club on Shofukucho East. Shut down some time after 1988, as the club closed nationwide.
  • Yokobori Golf Center: A golf center in Sotenbori Street.
  • Bar New Momoko: A bar in West Shofukucho with a karaoke machine.
  • Sotenbori Battle Arena: An arena built where Don Quijote used to be.
  • CourStar: A bar which hosts Pocket Circuit races.

Trivia

  • While the district is based off of Dotonbori and its locations have real-life equivalents, for an unknown reason, the cardinal directions in the game are flipped 180 degrees. This means that while the Don Quijote in Sotenbori is south of the river, its real-life equivalent is on the river's northern side.
  • "Bori" in Japanese means "Manmade canal", hence why Honoka doesn't find it as appealing as many thought it should be.

Gallery